


Whispers in the Night

by thudworm



Series: At Long Last [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Declarations Of Love, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Steve Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2016-09-21
Packaged: 2018-08-16 12:35:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8102623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thudworm/pseuds/thudworm
Summary: Steve has a nightmare. Tony is there to comfort him.Can be read as stand-alone.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Set approximately 6 months after the events of part 1 in the series.
> 
> I had planned to write their first date as the next posted fic in the series, but here we are instead.

Tony wasn’t exactly sure what had pulled him from a rather solid slumber. It was possibly the lack of warmth usually provided by his snuggly boyfriend being curled up behind him, or maybe there had been a noise, but whatever the reason he was grateful for it when he noticed something was wrong.

He rolled over, and had been planning on simply cuddling into Steve’s side and falling asleep again, until he realised that Steve was crying. It was subtle, Steve clearly trying to avoid disturbing Tony’s sleep, but now that Tony was awake (for whatever reason) there was no way in hell that he could ignore Steve’s distress. 

Tony reached up with his left hand to stroke Steve’s face before asking “Steve, what’s wrong?”

Steve’s almost immediate response was denial. “Nothing. Just a nightmare. Sorry I woke you, go back to sleep.”

Tony shook his head. “Obviously it wasn’t just an ordinary nightmare, if it’s rattled you this badly. Tell me about it. As horrible as it can be, trust me, talking about it helps.”

Steve sighed deeply, before all the fight seemed to drain out of him, and he began to share the details he could remember of the nightmare. It didn’t take him long to recount what happened, echoes of losing everything and everyone he had ever known. Tony allowed himself to be held close the entire time, until Steve had finished sharing the feelings of fear and loneliness that had been stirred up.

“You should have woken me, let me comfort you.”

“I didn’t want to disturb you. It wasn’t important.”

It was an awkward angle, but Tony managed to prop himself up enough to kiss Steve, before touching their foreheads together and staring into Steve’s eyes. “Yes, it was. You are important to me, and there is nothing more important to me, nowhere I would rather be, than making sure that you are okay. No matter what. Promise me you’ll tell me straight away next time, even if it means waking me up. Please.”

Steve nodded slowly. “Okay, but only if you do the same. I know you have nightmares too.”

“Deal. We can have JARVIS hold us to it. Right, J?”

“Of course, Sir,” came the quiet reply from JARVIS. “In the event of either yourself or the Captain experiencing a nightmare, or any other instance of disturbed sleep, I shall alert the other.”

With that settled, Tony rolled back over onto his back, pulling Steve along with him and arranging things so that Steve was cuddled into his side, with his head resting on Tony’s chest, to the side of the arc reactor. 

Running his fingers through Steve’s hair, Tony decided to throw caution to the wind after the night they’d had, and in a voice barely above a whisper, said “I love you” to Steve. The last thing he remembered before sleep claimed him was hearing Steve’s murmured “I love you too, Tony.” 

The next time Tony woke was because of the super-soldier he had sleeping almost totally on top of him, making it somewhat difficult to breathe. He didn’t have the heart to make him move, so he simply wiggled into a slightly better position before drifting off to sleep again. 

**Author's Note:**

> Also posted to tumblr [here](http://www.thudworm.tumblr.com/post/150725854684/whispers-in-the-night).
> 
> Comments are greatly appreciated!


End file.
